Last week, I had a very strange day which could be summarized as “From Life and Death”.

Well, as a doctor and dealing with emergency situations, I have worked a lot on the very thin line that separates these two events. However, that day I was not even on the scene of a medical case.

In the morning, a representative of an insurance company came for a visit which he had to postpone from last month, as his wife gave birth to twins, the very day of our appointment. One of the boys had to struggle hard and did survive fortunately. The pride young father showed me the picture of his “Lions”, two gorgeous boys a month old.

After my work, I did drive to the cemetery to see a medical representative, she had lost her husband to cancer the day before. Family and friends were gathered at the tanatory as costume in Spain. I stepped in, went towards her, gave her a hug and kissed her cheeks and told her how sorry I was and at the same time tried to comfort her mentioning that her husband wouldn’t suffer anymore and would be released. She is elder than me and has worked all her life close to doctors and patients and was very aware of that fact. Suddenly I saw myself on her side and remembered the day I was given hugs and words of comfort. I told her that I could understand her feelings and thoughts as I went through the same situation 5 years ago. She looked at me and replied, “You are too young to have experienced that”. I smiled shyly: “it was a very hard time but nothing in life happens without a reason. That experience gave me the ability to know what goes on inside you in this very moment as a human being and a doctor.” “You are so right” she told. I hugged and kissed her telling her to count on me for whatever she would need, even if it would be to talk to somebody not belonging to her close surrounding about her feelings.

That day, I thought a lot about life and death and the very narrow space in between. I thought about love, which is the beginning and the end.

It is Christmas Time, everybody is rushing to prepare the perfect Christmas dinner and lunch for family gatherings, the most gorgeous Christmas decoration and the most surprising and wonderful presents to be placed under the Christmas tree. All that is nice, but hold on a second.

What about love? What do we celebrate in this time of the year?

Isn´t it about the birth of a man who decided to save the humanity through love….

So think about it. Look around you and see all the person you love and would miss if they were not here. Life is a very unpredictable business, and for many it could be the last Christmas. Go to those people, give them a hug and tell them how much you love them. Offer them the most valuable present you can give anybody, which is a portion of your time and a while of your presence and see how else you can make them happy.

Remember two things, first, love is the only treasure that grows to the extend you give it to others and second, time flies and you can´t hold it back. So use your time to give as much love as possible.